Even Keel

Several people have asked how the diet is coming along. Just to re-cap for those who missed it. I was diagnosed with a very serious case of adrenal exhaustion (and low thyroid, low B-12 and a few hormonal imbalances that result from these other issues). So, in addition to several other treatments, my doctor recommended a sugar free, yeast free diet for at least 6 weeks. This diet helps to clean up the gut and kill off Candida overgrowth. It is also just a good detoxifying kind of diet because you cannot eat processed foods. I eat eggs, veggies, beans, quinoa, and lean protein such as fish, chicken, turkey and a little beef and pork.

So, the first week was HARD. Really, really hard. I had mood swings, headaches and I felt grumpy and hungry the whole time. I also had an adverse reaction to my thyroid medication that was likely initiated by low blood sugar too. I felt like I was having a heart attack, blacked out and could not breathe. It was AWFUL!!!

However, after 7 days on this diet, I began to feel incredible. My moods have evened out. I am no longer hungry. I feel calm and patient throughout the day. I am not craving sugar or flours at all. I even have taken the boys for gelato twice and it did not bother me that I could not have some. I still have fatigue (which is more likely due to my adrenals and B-12 deficiency) but even that has improved. My energy is better than it has been in a few years! I have now been on the diet 11 days and I am really happy with it. I still don't think I am losing weight which surprises me because I am eating SO much healthier than before. As I said before, I don't really have a weight issue but I certainly have 5-10 pounds of flab that I would not mind losing. I cannot exercise yet because my cortisol levels were so low but should be able to very soon.

The only major drawback of this diet so far is that my skin is really awful. I am not sure if it is detoxing or it is breaking out in reaction to the thyroid and adrenal changes and medications but my skin is definitely not doing well. If anyone know more about this, please let me know. I am hoping it will correct quickly.

So, the thing I missed the most were lattes. But I have devised a latte that I am allowed on this diet. It is coffee, unsweetened vanilla almond milk and a touch of agave nectar (that is allowed:) that I heat and whip up with my aerolatte. It makes a delicious latte. The aerolatte is the best invention ever! It works best when the milk is warm/hot for lattes. I have had mine for years and we use it everyday. I mix Harry's weight gain shakes with it too.

Another new food for me is quinoa. I had tried quinoa before but did not love it. Since I cannot have any rice or grains on this diet except quinoa, I am eating this a lot. My favorite way to prepare it is as a hot breakfast cereal. I cook 1/2 cup quinoa with 1/2 cup almond milk and a 1/2 cup of water. Then I add raw almonds (I toast them for a few minutes in the oven), a sprinkle of ground cinnamon and a drizzle of agave and it is DELICIOUS!!! And a small bowl keeps me full until lunch! I have never been a hot cereal fan but this is so good. In a few weeks, when I am allowed to eat fruit again, I might add some berries and maybe even some unsweetened coconut.

If you have not tried quinoa before, give it a try. Although it is an ancient food, it is the HOT new complete protein health food. ALL the nutrition blogs are gaga over it. It is gluten-free, a complete protein, easy to digest and low glycemic!

I have also learned to eat this for breakfast. It is wild caught sockeye salmon with red onions on top. It is actually really good. Just kind of weird for breakfast.

Seriously, it is hard to be creative on this diet with breakfast. I am not a huge egg eater (only veggie omelets for me) so I have to think out of the box.

I am sure most of you were not interested in all of this in the least but I want to journal this so I remember the process and it might help one of you who asked:) Happy Weekend everyone! Today is Harry's award ceremony and Sunday is Kate's dance recital!

As promised, my newest obsession...

My secret weapon

(there I am reflected in the middle of the juicer:o)

Snekcip (a loyal reader) keeps me on my toes here...she reminded me that y'all were waiting to find out my new discovery.  

Well, there is a story. All summer I had been having major stomach pain.  I was convinced that I had an ulcer or stomach cancer (yes, I can be a hypochondriac).  The pain would wake me in the middle of the night. I could not eat.  I could NOT get in to see a doctor or a gastroenterologist.  It was awful.  I finally got an appointment to see a general practitioner who did a blood test for h.pylori (which was negative) and then he handed me a pack of prilosec and told me most Americans are taking it now. As you might suspect, I am not big on drugs, so I decided to take a more natural approach (surprised?).  First, I gave up caffeine.  That was hard.  I LOVE coffee but I had read that it is AWFUL for your stomach. Then, I began reading about juicing.  

I considered buying a juicer but I don't LOVE vegetables or fruit so I thought it might be a waste of money.  Around this time, we left for the beach.  The first thing I saw in Seaside was a raw organic juice bar.  I decided right then and there that I would try one everyday on vacation. Each morning Will and I went to the juice bar and I tried a few veggie juices (with an apple or lemon  too). Well,  I felt GREAT.  I had no headaches from caffeine withdrawal.  I had more energy than I have had in years. I was in a great mood all week.  And my stomach pain COMPLETELY disappeared.  

When we returned from Seaside, I immediately bought a juicer and I have been juicing about twice a day.  I feel so much better.  Here is a list of benefits that I have noticed immedately:

~my skin is better

~the whites of my eyes are brighter

~I am sleeping better

~I have MUCH more energy ( I cannot overstate this one)!

~my moods are more stable (except on the days I did not juice due to being away).

~my stomach feels great

~we don't own a scale but my clothes are looser so I think I am losing some weight.

~I am craving more healthy foods all around.  I want salads all the time.

I LOVE my juicer.  If anyone has any questions, I will try to answer them but as I have only been doing this about a month, I am not an expert at all.

I want to share a book with you that I LOVE if you are interested in nutrition.  It is called Food as Medicine: How to use diet, vitamins, Juices and herbs for  a healthier, happier and longer life.

It has very specific suggestions for what to eat, juice and supplements for various illnesses (cancer, diabetes, stomach issues, ulcers, hormonal problems, aging, skin problems, allergies, ADD, asthma, etc).  I can not recommend this book highly enough. 

Green Goddess Juice 

(celery, cucumber, parsley, fresh greens ~I rotate kale, spinach, watercress, red leaf lettuce etc~, an apple and half a lemon)

Carrot, apple, ginger juice

Beet and veggie juice

I just want to end by saying that juicing is a commitment of both time and money.  The good juicers are expensive (about $300) and you need to use fresh, organic produce .  It takes me about 20-30 minutes to prepare a juice and clean up.  It is very worth the time and the money for me...but I want to be very realistic here. There are SO SO many health benefits of juicing.  I did not want to go into it all here but you can google "health benefits of juicing" and you will be amazed.

Cooking with Kate and our menu

Updated: Okay several of you e-mailed or commented and asked for the tortilla soup recipe...I added it at the bottom.  Don't let the long ingredient list scare you.  It is easy peasy.

Ever since they cooked at school the other day (a few posts down), Kate wants to cook at every meal.  The other day she begged to make scrambled eggs with cheese.  We cracked eggs, whisked, cooked and then she refused to eat them.  This morning she made pancakes for the boys (and their friends who slept over).  BIG lesson learned-- NEVER have a sleep over when you are only 1/2 unpacked! I felt the boys needed it but it was complete chaos.

Really though this post is about our menu this week.  Over the past few months several people have asked for recipes and menu ideas for eating the way we do (gluten free and minimal dairy). A few bloggers post weekly menus and I know I will not be able to keep up with that. However,  since I actually made a menu this week, I thought I'd share it.  

Also, I briefly mentioned Harry's health problems last week.  Well, they were diet related.  We were not eating very healthy for the past few months.  We ate out a lot and did not have our cookbooks or pots and pans or spices. Also, Harry was going to a lot of friends houses and sleepovers and "cheating" on his diet.  As a result, Harry was having some severe stomach issues.  So, I really need to get back on track with cooking gluten-free and dairy free foods for our family.  Here is this week's menu:

Sunday-Lime and Cilantro Shrimp over long grain rice. (From Peace Meals-the new and FABULOUS Houston Junior League cookbook).  We had this for the first time tonight.  It was SO easy and delicious!

Monday-Chili (beef and kidney bean).  My favorite chili is from my old red and white cover Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook but it is not on their website. Even my friends who don't like chili like this one.  I will post it sometime but I am a terrible typist so it takes me a long time to post recipes.

Tuesday- Cherry Chicken  This is a crock pot recipe that is from Preppy Pink Crocodile.  It sounds easy and yummy!

Wednesday-Smooth Black Bean soup from my all time favorite cookbook Stop and Smell the Rosemary (another Houston Junior League cookbook). No, I am not a Junoir Leaguer but every single recipe in this cookbook is delicious.  It has won numerous national awards. My copy is literally falling apart!)

Thursday- Chicken Tortilla Soup (again from Stop and Smell the Rosemary). This is the best tortilla soup you will ever eat.

Friday- Leftovers because I have late afternoon parent-teacher conferences (and the two soup recipes make a lot of food).

I recently found this site called A Year of Crockpotting

She posts a gluten-free crock pot recipe and review every single day!  I am thinking this is a great site for our family.

Tortilla Soup (from Stop and Smell the Rosemary)

6 tbs vegetable oil

8 corn tortillas, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 medium onion, chopped (I do this in the food processor)

1  28oz can diced tomatoes

2 tbs ground cumin

1 tbs chili powder

3 bay leaves

6 cups chicken stock (I buy low salt organic)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I leave this out if the kids are eating it and Dave, Harry and I add Tabasco at the table)

4-6 cooked chicken breasts, shredded or cubed (I use 4 and I bake them and then shred them with two forks. Really, 4 is plenty of chicken).

Optional garnishes:

Shredded Monterey Jack cheese

cubed avocado

Sour Cream

2 corn tortillas, sliced and fried crisp (or a few tortilla chips) 

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add tortilla, garlic, cilantro and onion. Saute 2-3 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes.  Bring to a boil and add cumin, chili powder, bay leaves and chicken stock.  Return to a boil.  Reduce heat.  Add salt and cayenne.  Simmer 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and stir in the chicken. Reheat for a few minutes.  Spoon into bowls and garnish with cheese, avacado, sour cream and/or tortilla chips.

P.S.  Read the post below for the opportunity to help bring Rachel home to her forever family.

Supplements

I have been having a lot of mixed feelings about blogging lately and I am trying to sort them out.  However, I promised a list of our supplements and so I will list the ones that I believed have helped us the most. I am not listing them all for many reasons but if you have a specific question, please feel free to e-mail me. 

I do want to throw out another word of caution though. Eating gluten free is not for everyone.  I do think we could all probably eat healthier (less processed and more organic and fresh foods). But gluten is not bad for everyone.  If you have irritable bowel issue, inflammation, auto immune issues, ADD and perhaps autism (many people with autism do better without gluten and casein) gluten free eating could REALLY help.  But if you have no health issues and you feel great, gluten is probably fine for you.  In any case, please do your own research and talk to your own health professionals before you do anything that I write about.  I am NOT advising here.  I am simply sharing what we do. (Dave is very concerned about me sharing this information).

I will list the supplements that I think are the best for our family and then explain their benefits. Truly, I could list fifty things we have tried over the 3-4 years we have been on this path but I only list our essentials now. PLEASE check with a health professional before you take these supplements!  E-mail me if you have any questions.

1. Added Attention (Buried Treasure)  If I could only buy one supplement for my family this would be it (although only one person takes it one a regular basis) This is a liquid vitamin supplement that helps with focus and attention.  We ran out of it once for a few weeks and I vowed that we would NEVER run out of it again.  I can tell immediately if one of my sons has not had this each day.  Dave and I have taken this supplement when we really need to focus on something and it works!  You need to take it everyday if you have attention issues though and it may take a few weeks before you see results. Iherb sells it the cheapest.  I order 5 bottles at a time.  You refrigerate this liquid and while it doesn't taste great it doesn't taste awful either.

2. Zyflamend.  This is an all natural supplement that I take for inflammation.  I get nerve inflammation in my right arm and leg (especially if I am not eating right or I am under a lot of stress).  When I take Zyflamend, it goes away.  I take it because my nerve inflammation is painful but the effects of the ingredients in this supplement are really purported to have amazing long term benefits.  Dr. Weil even recommends it.  So, if you a have any inflammatory issues like arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, nerve inflammation, etc., look into this.  It really works.

3. Natural Calm  This is a magnesium supplement that does so many things.  It will clam you and or your kids down for sleep but there are so many other benefits as well.  We mix it with hot water just before bedtime and drink it.  I must admit that we have been forgetting it lately but it has helped with a plethora of symptoms we experience.  Please go read the list of symptoms of a magnesium deficiency on the link.  I order this from Iherb also.  I think it is the best price.

4. Unbounded Energy

I found this as a sample at my local health food store and I really have a problem with lack of energy many days.  So, I tried it.  It works.  Plain and simple, if I take this vitamin I have a lot more energy to get through the day but I do not feel hyper or jittery.  It is all natural and the energy is both mental and physical.

5. NDF Plus  Cilantro Drops.  When Kate came home from China she had a very elevated lead level.  Our holistic pediatrician (we go to a traditional one too) suggested these drops.  They are basically highly concentrated cilantro drops (and more) but they pull toxins and heavy metals out of the body. These are very expensive but they worked and we only used a quarter of the bottle and then passed them onto another little girl whose lead levels were super high. Hers came down very quickly too and they had been trying for about a year with little success to lower them on their own.    My traditional pediatrician could not believe how quickly Kate's lead levels came down.  They are super low now (<3).

6. Epsom Salt/Baking Soda baths.  We use these as a detoxification process too.  Again our holistic pediatrician recommended them for the boys and then again for Kate.  I use them too. Basically, you fill a tub with 1 cup of Epsom salts, one cup of baking soda and very warm water. you soak for about 20 minutes and then wash your skin to get the toxins off.  People with high blood pressure, heart conditions, liver and kidney problems should not take these baths. Again, please check with your doctor before doing these.  You can read more about Epsom salt baths here  or here . I also learned recently that Epsom salts are good for eczema (which Kate has)!

7. Correomega (free sample here) There is a kids formula and a regular one.  This site has great information on the benefits of omega 3.  Some of them include brain development, eye development, healthy joints, mental clarity and balance, cardiovascular health, overall growth and development. This helps eczema too.

8. Probiotics.  We use these but there are many good ones out there.  Probiotics help maintain healthy bacteria in the stomach.  Again, I am not a doctor but the benefits of probiotics are well documented and they have helped us immensely.  I think these probably are of benefit to everyone.

9. Prescription for Nutritional Healing.  This book is chock full of really great information about nutritional and healing and holistic health.  I love it and I refer to it constantly.

10. SAM-e

This is a mood booster and good for joint health.  When Kate first came home and the euphoria wore of...she was not sleeping and Dave and I were really overwhelmed, we were moody and snappy with one another.  I had heard of this supplement and we tried it.  It works.  I have read that Nature Made brand is the best formulation of this supplement. You can find it at Target.   SAM-e is something our body already makes but as we age and in times of stress we make less of it and need more of it.  At least this is how it was explained to me.

A holistic pediatrician can be very helpful if you are looking at getting away from processed foods and if medicines have not helped any conditions you have experienced.  We see both regular MD's and a chiropractor and a holistic MD when necessary.  I am open to the best ways of healing my family with the least amount of damage to their bodies.

Now, onto other things.....

A few shots from our family celebration of Will's b-day. He was allowed to pick his dessert. He chose the yummiest Maggie Moo ice cream cupcakes. They are not on our usual eating plan.

Oh, that looks so good!  Kate says chocolate like a New Yorker (chawwwklate). 

 She loves it but it makes her CRAZY!

I love this little outfit on Kate.  It was a gift last year but just fits now.

Isn't it darling?  

Health Series-Part 2--the food!

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu

Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

I begin with this quote because I believe it is the only way we could have come as far as we have with our eating. I could not have started out thinking that I would never eat pizza or ice cream again.  And the boys could only handle one meal at a time, one day at a time.  I could go out to eat and say to myself, at this meal, "I will not have the yummy bread or dessert."

Having said that, when we first eliminated dairy, wheat, soy and gluten from our diets, it was complete.  We did not eat ANY (that we knew of) for about one solid year.  We did not eat out much and we did not "cheat."  I think that was necessary for two reasons.  One was to see if the food we were eating was really making us feel bad (it was). Also, we really needed to change the way our bodies craved and processed food.  We also had to kind of clean up our bodies.  Now, we can have a occasional piece of pizza (last night).  We do suffer consequences. Will gets a stuffy nose and the grumpies, Harry has digestive problems and I get nerve inflammation. But we don't crave those foods much anymore and we know what we will deal with after.

There is so much information to squeeze in here that I will begin with lists.

What we don't eat (most of the time):

wheat products

cow's milk 

soy

gluten

dairy

So we don't eat breads, cakes, cookies, pancakes, pasta, pop-tarts, pretzels, ice cream etc. unless they are gluten -free. We do have these foods on occasion (vacations, birthdays).

What we do eat:

fruit 

vegetables

fish 

meat

potatoes

rice milk

goat cheese

eggs

beans

goat milk (Kate)

Millet and Flax bread

Meals for us are usually some sort of protein (meat, chicken or fish) a veggie and salad or rice/potato/bean. Snacks are often fruit. However, I have found over the years some very good gluten free snacks. I have listed them below. They can be found at Whole Foods or other health food stores.

Some of the best gluten free food I have found:

Rice Dream Ice Cream 

Whole Foods Organic Potato chips

Envirokidz  gluten free cereal (Gorillla Munch, Koala Crisp and Amazon flakes)

Envirokidz also makes great cereal/snack bars

 Van's Organic gluten free waffles (blueberry, apple cinnamon and regular).  

Nana's cookies--These are good for anyone as they have no hydrogenated fats, no refined sugars.

Glutino pretzels and crackers

In stead of syrup we use Organic Agave Nectar.  Let me tell you a little about agave nectar.  It is really a fabulous low glycemic all natural sweetener.  I used to put two teaspoons of sugar in my coffee.  Now I use this and I do not even taste the difference.

Glutano pasta is my favorite but DeBoles is also very good.

Bell and Evans GF chicken tenders--these are so good and they are perfect for when I need a quick dinner before Judo or if they kids are having a baby sitter.  The chicken in antibiotic, hormone free white meat.  They also have a regular variety.  I highly recommend these for a healthy, quick option for kids.

We also buy all of our lunch meat (turkey, ham etc) at Whole Foods.  Yes, it is expensive but it is gluten free and minimally processed and preservative free.

We LOVE bacon (I know it is BAD) so we also buy the nitrate free, organic, low salt, minimally processed bacon from Whole Foods for our occasional fix.  It is SO good!

Applegate Farms makes a really good all beef, no nitrate, gluten free, organic hot dog that is delicious.

A few notes:

~Yes, eating this way is VERY expensive. It was a shock to our bank account when we started shopping at Whole Foods and other places like that.  But, it is what we put in our body and it is what makes us function in a healthy manner.  So, we do it. I feel very fortunate that we can afford to eat this way.  I am incredibly thankful for that.

~ It takes a long time to see the changes and it takes a lot of discipline and commitment. Supplements helped us see results a little quicker.  But think about how long we ate the other way.  It takes our bodies a long time to adjust.  It is definitely worth it though.

~I used to LOVE junk food.  In college, I ate a Philly cheese steak every single day (with a soft pretzel that I dipped in processed meted cheese). So, if I can do this anyone can.

~Now I could not nor would I want to eat that way.  Once your body gets used to good and healthy food, it cannot tolerate junk.  I won't get too graphic here but a McDonalds burger would not even stay in my system for a half hour if I ate one.  I could not eat a bowl of regular pasta without feeling  dizzy and nauseous and I would get a headache.  I used to LOVE pasta.  I still like it and I make GF lasagna and other pastas.

~ The year I changed our eating my cholesterol went down 30 points!  It was 184 and it is now 154.  The good cholesterol stayed exactly the same but the bad cholesterol went down tremendously!  I never expected that since it wasn't bad to begin with and I still eat red meat.  My triglycerides went down 4o points from 89 to 49. Again, they were not bad before but they are great now.

~Allergy testing is very tricky.  Will and Harry have had their blood sent off for the most comprehensive allergy testing available (at the Mayo clinic). The tests came back saying that neither of them were allergic to anything!  Well, we know that Will has an anaphylactic allergy to peanuts and he has a severe allergy to dogs.  Harry has had a stomach biopsy to confirm his milk and soy allergy as a baby.  My point is that allergy testing is not very reliable in kids.  So, I will never know if they have a "true allergy" to all of this stuff.  But I do know these symptoms have virtually disappeared from us since we changed the way we eat:

constipation, diarrhea, anger rages, learning disability, ADD type behavior, eczema, asthma, constant stuffy nose, MS symptoms, megacolon and many more.  These foods affected us all completely differently but eliminating them made us all better.

I really hope that all of this information can help one person out there who is wondering if food sensitivities are hurting them or their child.  As I said, I am not an expert and I am not trying to change anyone's mind.  I am just willing to share what our story is.  I know that for years, every teacher we had thought one of my kids might have ADD (we had him tested) when he changed the way he ate (and took a GREAT supplement  that I will post about next) he changed.  No one EVER thinks that about him now.  In fact, the year we changed our diet his teacher said,  "In the beginning of the year, I did not know what I was going to do with him.  I kept moving his seat next to the calm kids.  By the end of the year, he was the calm kid that I moved other kids next to!"

I am happy to answer anyone's questions about all of this.  If you ask a question, I'll respond in the comments.  Next, I talk about supplements!

Health Series-Part 1

I am amazed at how many people have e-mailed me asking to post about how we eat, the supplements we take etc.  I have even had people come up to me around our town and ask me to post about it.  Changing the way we eat and treat ourselves medically has changed our lives so I am happy to share this but first I need to put out some disclaimers:

1. I am not a health professional in any way shape or form. Please seek your own medical advice before doing anything that I write about here (my lawyers made me say that--LOL;)

2. I have been to the following kinds of health professionals-- nutritionist, NAET specialist, allergists, chiropractor, acupuncturist, Chinese herbalist, holistic doctor and every other kind of "regular" physician you can imagine.

3 .Our family does not ALWAYS make the healthiest choices.  We try to eat very healthy but we do "cheat" once in a while and eat junk food.  Life is short and food is yummy.  We like pizza and cupcakes sometimes but we never eat at McDonald's or Burger King or places like that. We also try not to judge others by what they eat.  We simply do what works for us.

4. We live like this because we need to.  Harry, Will and I have all been very sick in the past.  In fact, as I write this I realized we have all been hospitalized or taken to the ER due to reactions to food and allergies and medicines in the past.  Even Kate needs to be careful. She drinks goat milk because cow's milk and ice cream give her horrible eczema!

I realized that there are so many facets to this topic. So, I will post about it in parts and I apologize in advance to those who find it utterly boring (I would have a few years ago).

First, I will give a little background as to why we changed our lifestyle.  Then I will talk about our diet.  After that, I will post about homeopathy and finally, I will post about some of the supplements that have helped us.

Several HUGE events occurred in our lives to make us completely change the way we eat and live.  I want to share some of that so you realize it was a long time getting to where we are.  As I have shared before, on Will's 2nd birthday the neurologist told me that I probably had MS.  I went for second and third and fourth opinions.  I looked into all of the medications the doctor wanted me to take. I felt awful and I had a terrible time walking. I dropped things all the time and I was exhausted. I had horrendous nerve pain in my right leg and in my face (trigeminal neuralgia). The doctors sent me for dozens of MRI's, spinal taps,  and blood tests. I even had a test where they inserted needles into my legs and shocked me (EMG). I never really believed that I had MS but I wasn't sure if I was just in denial or not. One of the treatments they gave me (IVIG) caused Aseptic meningitis  and sent me to the hospital almost every time. It was bad.

Fast forward a few years, Harry is born.  He is sweet and beautiful but he cannot breast feed. He has a short frenulum (tongue tied) and cannot latch on. He eventually needs surgery to correct this condition. So, we give him formula.  I will spare some of the bloody (yes) gory details but NOTHING would stay in either end of that baby. For 4 months, he was starving.  He was failure to thrive.  It was awful! There are so many more stories I could tell here but I'll save them for another time. In short, an endoscopy when he was four months old revealed that he was allergic to both dairy and soy.  There is little to feed a newborn that does not contain dairy or soy.  There was literally one thing Harry could eat (Neocate).  It was available through hospital pharmacies only and it was outrageously expensive.  After a while, we could order by the case.

While all of this is going on, Will has asthma, allergies and eczema.  He is also a little "hyper." His pre-school teacher even wonders if he could have ADD.

We were all going to our separate doctors for our separate issues for years.  We were taking lots of medication.  Harry was on medication for reflux.  Will was on medication for allergies and asthma.  I was on something for nerve pain and inflammation.  I NEVER once thought that we needed to change anything in our lives. We weren't the healthiest eaters but we weren't the worst either. I thought that once Harry was off the bottle, he would outgrow his allergies.  Over the years, out of pain and frustration, I started to seek out other types of doctors.  I went to an acupuncturist in Houston.  I started to see a chiropractor. Eventually, a good friend directed me to a holistic health care specialist who really turned on the light bulb for us.  Harry was 3 and began have serious stomach issues. He had mega colon. So, I got on the waiting list to see this specialist.

To make a VERY long story short, she assessed me and the boys and determined that we were all having major problems processing wheat, gluten dairy and soy. She also discovered some severe vitamin and mineral deficiencies. She discovered that my adrenal glands were not functioning well at all. This basically meant that everything we ate was causing unhealthy reactions in our bodies.   I did not want to listen.  I lived on bread and cheese.  There was NO way I could give them up. She started treating the boys with supplements.  Their systems were so weak from years of exposure to things that were bad for them. We had lived in Houston, Texas.  I LOVE Houston but it is very polluted.  I have no doubt that also affected our already weak immune systems.

So, Dave thought I was CRAZY when I traveled an hour and a half each way with the boys to see this doctor (a few times a month). He thought I was even crazier when he saw the supplements they needed.  But when I told him how we were going to start eating...he really thought I was nuts. We were on so many supplements early on, he made a chart for the boys so I didn't miss any.  After a few weeks, we saw BIG changes and Dave did not think I was crazy anymore.

I want to mention here that this doctor spent so much time with us and she charged very little ($35 a visit--spending an hour or more with each of us). Similarly, she charged less for the supplements than anywhere else I have bought them.  She was not in it for the money.  She really wanted to help people.

Next, I will talk about the diet.